Final Battle
by Artanis Ancalime
Summary: REVISED. My take on the final battle. Character death. Some will fall and some will live, will you stand up and take the chance?


Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter characters or anything like that, and the lyrics are from a musical called Les Miserables. The song whose lyrics I took is called 'Do You Hear the People Sing?' and 'Finale', which is basically another version of 'Do You Hear the People Sing?' I know that the lyrics say 'France' and that not all the lyrics fit perfectly, but live with me!

Summary: The final battle is at hand. People are ready to fight, but some still need some convincing until they are ready to put their lives on the line for the battle. Harry tries to convince them, but when he fails, Hermione steps in. Can she succeed where the Chosen One fails? Can she rally up people to fight for the side of the light? Or will they be doomed?

Author Note: I know that they lyrics say 'France', but live with me. You'll understand later. Plus, not all of the lyrics will totally fit, but for the sake of the story, oh well.

hr 

"Hello," the angel of death stated to the group of souls in Heaven.

"Oh hello!" Albus Dumbledore responded. "What do we owe this pleasure to?"

"The final battle is about to start," he replied.

"Oh," Sirius said. He was scared. Who else was going to die?

"And I think you all should be there to great someone. I think this person will need you there," the angel of death explained.

"Who?" James questioned.

"I'm not at liberty to say, but you guys can go down and witness certain parts of the final battle, but only certain parts!" he warned.

"Alright, we understand," Lupin stated.

"Let's go," Lily told everyone. They all nodded and followed her, except the angel of death.

hr 

"Ok, this is it. It's due or die time. If we want to succeed, we're all going to have to pull together," Harry started his speech, attempting to convince some more people to help in the fight. "If we really want to stop Voldemort," he ignored the shudders that ran through the crowd. "Then we're going to have to stand up for ourselves. We are going to have to fight, all of us. I understand that it's scary, and that you might die. But, isn't it better that we die fighting? If we do not fight, then Voldemort will still win, and we will still die. Isn't it better to die trying to help those we love, than to die doing nothing?"

He breathed a sigh of relief. He was standing in front of two groups of people. On one side were the people who knew that they were going to fight. On the other were people who were unsure. All of the Order members were in the first group. There was also Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna, Neville, Dean, Seamus, Lavender, and many other Hogwarts students and teachers and other adults. There were also quite a few Aurors. In the unsure group, there were some other Hogwarts students and adults. Some faces he knew, others he didn't.

After his speech, a couple of people came over to the 'sure' side, but many more remained. Harry sighed. He did not know what else to say to get these people rallied to fight. He wished that Sirius was here, or Lupin, or Dumbledore was there. They would know what to say to get these people ready to fight. He looked out into the crowd of 'sure' people to see if anyone could help him. Ginny and Ron looked as lost as he did, but Hermione smiled at him and nodded. She understood what he needed, and that was why he loved her so much. She cleared her throat and stepped up next to Harry, capturing everyone's attention. She remained silent for a while, and then someone finally spoke up.

"Look, we get what your saying Potter, but I'm just not sure if it's convinced us."

"That's what I'm here for," Hermione explained. "To see if I can change your minds." She looked at the 'sure' side for support, squeezed Harry's hand, and took a deep breath. She turned her attention to the 'unsure' side and smiled. To everyone's surprise, she did not make a speech, but she sang.

"Do you hear the people sing?  
Singing a song of angry men?  
It is the music of a people  
Who will not be slaves again!  
When the beating of your heart  
Echoes the beating of the drums  
There is a life about to start  
When tomorrow comes!

"Will you join in our crusade?  
Who will be strong and stand with me?  
Beyond the barricade  
Is there a world you long to see?

Then join in the fight  
That will give you the right to be free!

"Do you hear the people sing?  
Singing a song of angry men?  
It is the music of a people  
Who will not be slaves again!  
When the beating of your heart  
Echoes the beating of the drums  
There is a life about to start  
When tomorrow comes!

"Will you give all you can give  
So that our banner may advance  
Some will fall and some will live  
Will you stand up and take your chance?  
The blood of the martyrs  
Will water the meadows of France!

"Do you hear the people sing?  
Singing a song of angry men?  
It is the music of a people  
Who will not be slaves again!  
When the beating of your heart  
Echoes the beating of the drums  
There is a life about to start  
When tomorrow comes!

"Do you hear the people sing  
Lost in the valley of the night?  
It is the music of a people  
Who are climbing to the light.

"For the wretched of the earth  
There is a flame that never dies.  
Even the darkest night will end  
And the sun will rise.

"They will live again in freedom  
In the garden of the Lord.  
They will walk behind the plough-share,  
They will put away the sword.  
The chain will be broken  
And all men will have their reward.

"Will you join in our crusade?  
Who will be strong and stand with me?  
Somewhere beyond the barricade  
Is there a world you long to see?  
Do you hear the people sing?  
Say, do you hear the distant drums?  
It is the future that they bring  
When tomorrow comes!"

Cheers and clapping could be heard from everyone on the light side. Harry wiped tears from his eyes. He had never heard Hermione sing before, and it was beautiful. The lyrics, her voice, the whole thing was beautiful. Harry looked up to see that everyone who was 'unsure' was now 'sure'.

"Let's go get Voldemort!" someone in the crowd shouted and then all you could hear where the cracks of people disapparating.

hr 

"Hermione!" Harry shouted for what seemed like the hundredth time. He couldn't find her anywhere, and he was starting to get nervous. "Hermione!"

"Harry!" someone shouted. Harry looked up to see Ginny and Ron, pointing to someone lying down on the field. Harry's heart began to race as he sprinted over to them. When he got closer, he saw her on the ground. There was blood everywhere on her stomach, and Harry thought she was dead until she started coughing violently. She was pale and shaking slightly, and there were tears in her eyes. He could feel Ron and Ginny next to him, but he didn't say anything to them.

"Hermione!"

hr 

Lupin heard it first. Dumbledore, Sirius, James, and Lily were all talking about how great Hermione's song was and how inspiring it was. But, Lupin heard it. He looked over to the angel of death, who nodded his head.

"No," was all he could say, but it was loud enough to catch the others' attention.

"What? Sirius asked.

"No, she can't be the one who died, the one we're supposed to greet!" Lupin shouted.

"She is," the angel of death stated.

"No," Lupin said again.

"Who?" Lily asked. Before anyone could say anything more, they clearly heard Harry's voice cut through.

"Hermione! No! Mione, you can't die on me!"

"Oh no," Sirius stated. He had become pale, even for a dead man.

"Yes," the angel of death responded again.

"How?" Dumbledore asked.

"Peter Pettigrew stabbed her with his silver hand. She's slowly bleeding to death, but it's too far along to stop it," the angel explained.

"Oh god," Lily muttered. She had never known the girl personally, but she loved her nonetheless. They were interrupted by Harry again.

"Mione, come on. You can't die. I still haven't told you that I love you!"

"Oh Harry," James sighed. His son had finally found love, only it was too late.

"H…Harry. I…love you t…too. I l…love you s…s…so much. R…Ron, Gin, I lo…ve you guys t…too. Please t…tell every…one th…at I love them a…and tha…t I s…said go…goodbye," Hermione choked out. The pain was evident in her voice.

"No, Mione, we're gonna help you!" Ginny shouted. She had tears streaming down her face, and hearing Hermione talk like this was scaring her.

"Oh Miss Weasly," Dumbledore muttered.

"N…no. I'm n…not go…nna make i…it. Pl…please j…just promise me th…at you will l…live y…your life af…after I d…die. I'll w…wait forever f…for you g…guys. J…just live w…while your s…still here f…first. A…and Harry, n…never forget w…what I t…told you yes…yester…day. G…good…bye." And with that, she was gone. Harry felt her life slip away, and he cried. Ron burst into tears and tried to comfort his bawling sister in the process.

Meanwhile, Hermione felt her soul leave her body. She shuddered a little, and within seconds, she realized that she was dead.

"Huh, not how I imagined death, but oh well," she stated.

"Yeah, I felt like that too for a while," Sirius responded. Hermione's head snapped up and she smiled.

"Oh Sirius!" Hermione shouted with glee. She ran and gave him a giant hug. "I never thought that I would see you again until I died!" An awkward pause followed, only interrupted by Hermione's laughter. "Whoops! It looks like I forgot already! And people call me the brightest witch of my age!"

"It's alright Ms. Granger, it will take some to get used to," Dumbledore explained.

"Please professor, we're going to be here for an eternity. Please call me Hermione."

"Only if you call me Albus or Dumbledore."

"Alright Albus. And that goes the same for the rest of you!" Hermione turned her attention to the group of sobbing people surrounding her body. Harry was the worst. He was clutching her dead body sobbing. "Oh Harry, have you forgotten already?" she walked up to Harry and pushed his cheek towards the east. At that moment, a strong wind came by and for some reason, Harry moved his head towards east. He smiled at what he saw, the sunrise. He knew then and there that Hermione had done that as a reminder.

"I'm sorry I forgot Hermione, I won't do it again. No matter what evil night brings and no matter how hard things seem, I must remember what you told me. I must remember that there will always be a sunrise, and a new day with new possibilities. I'm sorry that you died before you got to see the sunrise," Harry told Hermione's dead body. Hermione smiled at Harry.

"That's my boy," Hermione stated. "That's my boy." She turned her attention away from the sobbing group to address the souls waiting for her.

"Lily and James I presume?" Hermione questioned. Lily and James both nodded. Hermione then turned to the angel and cocked an eyebrow.

"Angel of death," he explained before she could ask. Hermione nodded her head. "And let me say Ms. Granger, you are handling your death a lot better than a lot of people."

"Well, it was going to happen sometime in my life, so why should I be so shocked? I saw Peter stab me, I felt it, I knew that I was going to die," Hermione responded.

"Oh, can we not talk about your death?" Lily asked, suddenly feeling sick, even though she was dead. Hermione shot her a sympathetic glance and nodded her head.

"Of course. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Lily responded.

"So, you love my son?" James asked suddenly.

"Way to be tactful James!" Lupin exclaimed.

"Yup, since about 3rd year when we were rescuing Sirius," Hermione responded.

"Aw, how romantic!" Lily exclaimed.

"Hermione! Why did you leave!" suddenly split through the air. Hermione whirled around to see Ginny sobbing uncontrollably and many people trying to comfort her. Hermione walked up to the young girl and started humming the song she had sung earlier that evening in her ear. Ginny suddenly stopped crying and held her head up as if she was listening to something. Hermione put a hand on Ginny's shoulder and started to sing, to the surprise to all the dead. To the surprise of the living, Ginny started to sing at the same time, but they all swear that they could hear Hermione's voice in the wind too.

"Do you hear the people sing  
Lost in the valley of the night?  
It is the music of a people  
Who are climbing to the light."

Ron jumped in, as did Lupin.

"For the wretched of the earth  
There is a flame that never dies."

Harry, James, and Sirius all joined in the song too.

"Even the darkest night will end  
And the sun will rise."

Lily started in here, along with Tonks and McGonagall.

"They will live again in freedom  
In the garden of the Lord."

Dumbledore started to sing, and so did Snape and some of the other teachers that were still alive.

"They will walk behind the plough-share,  
They will put away the sword.  
The chain will be broken  
And all men will have their reward."

By this point, everyone who was living and dead who had some part in the war was singing.

"Will you join in our crusade?  
Who will be strong and stand with me?  
Somewhere beyond the barricade  
Is there a world you long to see?  
Do you hear the people sing?  
Say, do you hear the distant drums?  
It is the future that they bring  
When tomorrow comes!"

The singing died out as the song ended. Hermione jumped up from her place and faced the dead.

"Come, the living don't need us now, they will be ok on their own." With that, she started catching up on what had happened with everyone while she followed Dumbledore, Lupin, Sirius, James, Lily, and the angel of death into the gates of Heaven.


End file.
